Here
by DoctorDaisy
Summary: It was just supposed to be a game, a fun time with bored friends pretending that they didn't have work due in the morning. No one understood how anyone could possibly get hurt doing that.


"Okay, your turn, Honey. What if you could only see one color for the rest of your life?"

Honey Lemon gasped in horror. "No! What?"

"You have to answer. It's the rules," Wasabi insisted, crossing his arms in amusement, leaning back in his chair.

The group of six had set their chairs up in the middle of the room. Most SFIT students had long since left the building, and the rest of them knew they should have retired long ago. Unfortunately, two friends had begun playing a game that started out as 'would you rather', but had evolved into something else when, one by one, the rest of the gang joined in until they were all absolutely certain that they would need some type of caffeine in the morning, fourteen years old or not.

Their chairs formed a circle in the main lab. Fred claimed the large chair more suited for a living room, while GoGo took the only chair with wheels. Honey, Wasabi, and Hiro all used regular chairs made for elementary school classes, and Baymax was given a special seat, made specifically for him due to his make and size.

"This is too hard!" Honey complained with a groan, holding her head in her hands. After a short pause she jumped out of her seat, victorious. "Pink!"

GoGo popped her bubble of gum, rolling her eyes as she did so. "For a second I thought she was going to say 'blood orange'."

Honey had near instantly doubted her choice of color and began mumbling the shades of a rainbow in a attempt to think of a choice. The other students laughed. Hiro looked up at Baymax, nudging against the robot's arm to get his attention. Baymax's vision shifted from the frantically counting Honey to his patient. Hiro gestured to the group of college students with a grin. "So, what do you think, buddy? Do you get it now?"

Baymax tilted his head. Hiro nearly laughed out loud at the human gesture, something the robot had to have picked up from somewhere. Baymax blinked. "I do not understand why you would have to choose between eating pizza or cake for the rest of your life, when either in excess could cause major health problems over time."

Hiro gave a half-hearted laugh that quickly fell flat. "Yeah, you don't get it at all."

"Okay, I got a good one!" Honey called out. She fell back into her chair, locking her knees together and clutching them with her hands, an excited grin plastered on her face. "Fred, what if you could never wear your Fredzilla suit again, unless is was bedazzled and sparkled permanently?

Fred gave a short and loud chuckle, as if the answer was amazingly simple. "No question. Bedazzled and sparkled all the way. I could blind my opponents before hitting them with an attack they'd never see coming."

Honey squeaked happily. "Okay, let's do it right now!"

Baymax watched the interaction, taking note of expressions used and what caused neurotransmitter levels to rise. He looked back down at the boy beside him."Hiro, people your age should get around eight hours of sleep every night. If you stay up any longer, you will not gain the amount of rest necessary to stimulate your mind and grow."

"'Grow'? As in, 'height'?" Hiro repeated, surprised. "Did you just poke fun at me?"

"I am not capable of causing harm to your mental state. I would not want to insult you," Baymax answered evenly.

Hiro let out a 'huh', and eyed Baymax before shrugging. He watched Baymax as the robot started observing the others again. Hiro smiled with an eyebrow raised. "You having fun?"

"I was not designed with the ability to feel enjoyment as you do," Baymax answered. Hiro exhaled audibly, and Baymax returned his attention to him. "However, I am aware that this game provokes laughter and brings you happiness, and so it would be likely that, were I able to, I would feel the same way."

Hiro stared at the robot for a long while before his smile grew. He lightly punched his friend's arm. "I'm glad you're here to be a part of it, then."

Baymax made a move to respond, and Hiro only dropped the conversation because Fred had ever so politely interrupted him and started talking to Baymax.

"Baymax, I choose you! Let's see, uh..." Fred's bravado disappeared for a moment before coming back at full force. He raised a hand in the air dramatically before pointing directly at the heath care robot. "Aha! This is a question for a true superhero. All the greatest, most awesome heroes have to go through this at some point."

Hiro's annoyance at being cut off was replaced with laughter at Fred's explanation. Some of the others chuckled as well, though GoGo's only response was an upward twitch of the corner of her lips. Baymax's attention was turned to Fred, and he nodded. "I am prepared for your question."

Fred tapped his fingers together as if he were an evil mastermind. His voice was grave and low, but he was clearly smiling. "What if you had to hurt someone to help Hiro?"

Everyone froze at the question. Honey and GoGo exchanged a look to see if they both heard what they thought they heard. Wasabi seemed to not know how to respond. Hiro looked as if he wanted to say something, but Baymax spoke first. "My programming prevents me from injuring a human being."

Fred's act fell, and he tried to find a way to rephrase his question. He used his arms to help convey his point, with movements that consisted of waving one in a circle and the other one held out like he wanted to be handed something. "But, what if you couldn't just not hurt somebody?"

Wasabi looked between Fred and Baymax, his amused expression gone. He figured out what all of the others wanted to say, and he tried to say it. "Fred-"

"No, I actually really wanna know," Fred waved a hand in Wasabi's direction, but kept his attention on the victim of his words. He didn't notice the others trying to stop him. "What would you do, if the only way to save Hiro's life was to take someone else's?"

Baymax watched Fred as he processed the question. In an event, Hiro was endangered, and the only way to save him was to take the life of another human being. His programming prevented the harm of humans beings, but he had to protect Hiro. But he could not harm a human being. Hiro was his patient, and it was his duty to keep his patients safe. If that involved taking the life of another, it would save Hiro's life, but that was against his programming.

Not enough information; compare Callaghan to the other human. Callaghan tried to hurt Hiro, but it had been prevented without violence towards him. In the questioned situation, Hiro could only be saved if Callaghan was harmed. More details required. Simulation. Callaghan used the microbots and was about to impale Hiro, who could not avoid the attack. Baymax could not get to Hiro in time to get him out of harm's way. Baymax was incapacitated, and his only available action would be to fire his glove at the mask, worn on Callaghan's head. The impact would be fatal. The attack would go against his programming. Hiro would be killed. Baymax had to protect his patient. Baymax would attack Callaghan. The attack would go against his programming. Hiro-

"-course it's not funny! I swear, I didn't mean it!"

"You'd better be sorry! You nearly shorted out his personality chip!"

Baymax slowly onlined his optics and found himself viewing a ceiling. He remained there for a long moment, his systems booting up at an unusually sluggish pace. He was in Hiro's laboratory. He had not been in Hiro's laboratory a moment before. Baymax began a diagnostic on himself, disabling unnecessary processes to increase the speed of the scan. He closed his optics.

He could hear GoGo yelling at Fred, but their voices were faded and far away. They were nearby, but they weren't in Hiro's laboratory. He could not hear any other voices besides theirs, but he could hear breathing, a sign of life.

Diagnostic complete. No malfunctions detected. Baymax reactivated his functions and sat up from where he was laying on the floor. He took note of the area. There were tools scattered around him, loose wires and cables hastily left wherever they dropped. The room was not in good working condition, and would likely impair attempts at experimentation due to unavailable space. Baymax could only see one person, and she looked extremely tired, standing slouched against a wall and rubbing her forehead with her hand. Baymax raised a hand and spoke. "Hello, Honey Lemon."

Said student whirled around at her name, placing a hand on her chest in surprise. She smiled lightly, but it vanished just as quickly as it appeared. "Oh, thank goodness! Are you okay, Baymax?"

His response was delayed. He began another diagnostic on himself to find a reason why.

"I am functioning at recommended capacity," Baymax replied with a nod. Honey noticed the human movement, but didn't make any acknowledgement towards it.

The diagnostic completed faster than before, still showing no viruses or coding errors. Baymax glanced over his surroundings again. Yes, he was in Hiro's workshop. The game had been held in the main laboratory. There was no logical explanation for the sudden change in location.

Baymax returned his sight to Honey. "Where is Fred?"

Honey winced, pointing towards the closed door. "GoGo is chewing him out right now."

Baymax blinked. "Chewing a person could cause bodily harm-"

"Hiro needs to do a better job at explaining these things to you," Honey interrupted, a genuine smile returning to her face and remaining there.

Hiro. Baymax did not recognize that Hiro was not in the area. His systems seemed overworked and stained, but he had not been in a situation which would require the level of processing power needed to drain him in such a manner. Another diagnostic. Still no malfunction. Baymax tilted his head. "Where is Hiro?"

Honey bit her lip, looking away. Baymax couldn't identify the emotion she was expressing, though it looked akin to guilt and shame, his scans told him that it was neither. Honey pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "He, uh, he stepped out for a minute."

That was also illogical. Hiro and the rest of the group had all been in the main laboratory together, and then there was only one, in another location. With no results to explain the situation, Baymax began a scan of all systems and files for any irregularities. He shut his optics again.

"Baymax?"

Baymax reactivated to his name. He saw Honey kneeling in front of him, watching him with worry. She had not been there a moment before. He himself was not in the position he was in before. He was leaned against the wall, and Honey had a hand on his arm. He had only intended to shut down unnecessary functions again, but instead his entire system had deactivated on its own.

Baymax found that he scans had completed, and he ran the information through his processor. The results pointed to malfunction, but his diagnostics claimed otherwise. Baymax looked to Honey for clarification. "I am missing three hours and forty-seven minutes of memory."

Honey opened her mouth to speak, but soon decided against it. She huffed, giving a small shrug of defeat. "Yeah."

The silence that followed was causing Honey to display signs of discomfort. Baymax searched his database and found that she was exhibiting behaviors most commonly associated with sympathy, but her posture indicated that the feeling was not directed towards him.

There was a knock on the door. Honey jumped up at the sudden noise, then after recovering she turned to the door, though she kept an eye on Baymax as she moved. She opened the door, and two people entered.

Baymax sent them a greeting. "Hello, Wasabi. Hello, Hiro."

Hiro looked down, a sure sign of negative emotion. Baymax noted his slouched shoulders and tired eyes. As Hiro remained silent, a forcibly calm Wasabi responded to the robot's greeting. "Hi, Baymax. You doing alright?"

"I am functioning at recommended capacity," Baymax answered again, though his optics remained locked on Hiro. He tilted his head. "Hiro, I detect signs of anxiety and distress."

Hiro tensed, and both Honey and Wasabi met eyes. Honey walked right up to Wasabi and grabbed his shoulder, ignoring his confusion and protest. "We are going to check up on Fred. Make sure GoGo hasn't killed him."

"Killing-"

"Gonna stop you right there, expression, 'kay bye," Honey said hurriedly as she pushed Wasabi out and shut the door behind them.

That left Hiro and Baymax in the room alone. Hiro snuck a glance at Baymax, and saw that he was waiting for Hiro to speak first. Hiro tried being stubborn, but soon found he didn't have the strength to do it. Hiro raised his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "I'm fine. Really, I'm fine. It's okay now."

Baymax did not move. "I am missing three hours and forty-seven minutes of memory."

Hiro weakly laughed, rubbing a hand behind his neck. "Yeah, Fred said something stupid. It was kinda like a paradox, except it can only really work on you."

Baymax nodded in understanding. "I regret any distress I may have caused."

Hiro's smile began to falter, and his eyes grew slightly wider. "Fred said it, and it's sent you into a logic loop. A-and your systems started shutting down and your personality chip was overheating and I-I had to erase your memory because if I didn't then you would have-"

Hiro huffed out a breath of air. He looked away again. Baymax's optics followed the boy's movements. Baymax lowered his head slightly. "I would have been gone."

Hiro audibly swallowed. He brushed a hand through his hair, cracking a smile with stress still clear on his face.

"Fred didn't know what would happen, so it wasn't his fault. I mean, you're okay now, so this should be fine," Hiro insisted, though he wasn't sure who he was trying to reassure. "You're fine. I shouldn't still be like this right now, I don't-"

Hiro swallowed again.

"I-I have to run final diagnostics on you," He said moving to the back of the room and shaking his computers out of sleep mode.

Baymax attempted to calm Hiro down. "I have already performed them."

Hiro shook his head, not looking back. "No, I have to do this. I have to see it and know for sure."

Baymax relented, seeing that it was the best choice for Hiro's mental health. Hiro continued his work, and began his final scans. Baymax kept his optics online, watching over his patient. Hiro stood at the computer desk, unmoving, and after a few minutes the work was complete.

Hiro visibly relaxed. He let out a bitter laugh. "See, there's nothing wrong now. Nothing to worry about. Your systems are just overwhelmed right now. You just need to take it easy for a bit. You're fine, and you're still here."

"Hiro," Baymax's voice had gone quiet, but still managed to silence the boy. Baymax tilted his head. "Why did you say that you were glad I was a part of your game?"

Hiro took a long time to respond. He turned and locked eyes with Baymax, and his expression fell in an instant, brave face lost and mask shattered. Baymax had known since the loss of Tadashi that it was only a matter of time before Hiro finally broke down.

"I can't," Hiro admitted with a quiet voice. Baymax took note of pupil dilation, shortness of breath, and rising heart rate. He stood up. Hiro brushed a hand through his hair, eyes unfocused. "I can't lose you again. I can't, I don't know what I'd-."

Baymax waddled forward and stopping just a few inches back before bending down and wrapping his arms around his patient.

Hiro stood frozen, arms tense and hovering above the robot's manufactured skin, before he finally gave into the embrace. He gripped the polymer as hard as he could, leaning into the pats he receive on the top of his head.

"I am here," Baymax said softly, and Hiro could only respond with a muffled sob.

* * *

Fred sat stiffly in the chair, back straight and hands clasped together. He was told by GoGo to remain there until she told him otherwise, and he wasn't willing to risk suffering her wrath again.

Hiro had been thrown into a panic as soon as Baymax shut down, frantically trying to remove files and the like from the robot's mind. Honey had a look of pure fear on her face, and Wasabi seemed like he didn't know what to do in the slightest. GoGo had turned to anger, but used it for fuel to help Hiro bring Baymax to the boy's lab. Honey soon followed, and that left Wasabi to explain the situation to Fred after the mascot had asked what in the world just happened.

To say he felt bad was a huge understatement.

After honestly fearing for his life due to GoGo he was greatly relieved when Honey had intervened. Wasabi had returned as well, after leading Hiro away from Baymax when the boy did all he could do and tried doing even more. After the fight was quelled, the group went their seperate ways. Honey had left to wander somewhere, to take her mind off things. GoGo and Wasabi had left to grab some coffee, tea, and energy drinks for whoever wanted what. Fred still sat in the chair.

A few minutes later, in the distance, he heard the clicking of heels approaching at high speeds. Fred turned his head to see Honey whip around the corner. She was trying so hard to keep her voice down. "Come here, come here, come here!"

Honey was biting her lip, clearly trying not to squeal as she ran back the way she came. Her cheerfulness was surprising, and that was the only thing that made Fred decide to risk the power of the GoGo and get up. Fred followed her as well as he could seeing as he had no idea where she went, and soon found her peeking into Hiro's room through a half open door. She had a hand over her mouth, but her grin was so large that Fred could still see her smiling. Fred slowly edged closer to the door, and once he was close enough Honey grabbed his arm and pulled him close so he could peak in with her.

Baymax had made himself into a makeshift mattress for the boy that rested next to him. Hiro was curled into the robot, while Baymax curled around him, creating a giant enveloping pillow that looked as if it might have been the most comforting thing in the universe. Baymax was offline, but he was not deactivated, though he almost looked as if he was with no response to their presence and optics closed. Hiro was sleeping soundly.

Honey took a picture.


End file.
